Burke begins “The Rhetoric of Hitler’s ‘Battle’” by arguing that though Mein Kampf infuriates and disgusts, American critics should not simply dismiss the book.14 Rather, they should study it vigilantly in the hopes of protecting the American people from the “‘medicine’ this medicine-man has concocted.” The so-called medicine Burke refers to here is the rhetorical activity that was instrumental in bringing about unity in Germany—a unity that Burke describes as “sinister.”15 Corrupting and parodying religious concepts, Hitler’s rhetorical strategy involved pitting the Rome-like capital of
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